BYC gardening thread!!

[lazy gardener]

Awesome! Love the pics. Please post again in 2 - 4 weeks!!!

 

[eggs benidict]

I'm a horticulturist by trade , & have worked as a landscape gardener , nurseryman , bush regenerator for the last 15 years .. But I mostly enjoy our herb garden

 

[ducksanddoxies]

Tha

I'm a horticulturist by trade , & have worked as a landscape gardener , nurseryman , bush regenerator for the last 15 years .. But I mostly enjoy our herb garden

That's an honorable trade. Bet you have forgotten more information about plants than I even know!

 

[eggs benidict]

Thanks man yeah I've got a lot of plant names up there , they come & go haha

 

[vehve]

Allright, time for another segment of cooking and carpentry with Felix. Carpentry was in the day, so I'll share today's recipe with you guys.

Jerusalem artichoke soup




1 onion, or 2 scallions, chopped
1kg Jerusalem artichokes, pealed, cut in pieces
3-4 potatoes, pealed, cut in pieces
a dash of oil
6-7 dl chicken stock
2 dl white wine (the Yalumba 2013 Riesling was nice)
1-2dl cream
salt and pepper
some thyme
100g prosciutto (or bacon)

On low heat in a large pan, sauté the onions in the oil for about 10 minutes to make them nice and sweet. Some salt sprinkled on top of them in the beginning will bleed the bitter taste out. Bring up the heat to full effect, and throw in the wine. Add the potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes and the chicken stock. Once they are thoroughly cooked, purée the soup in a mixer and add the cream. Bring the soup back to a boil, and season with salt and pepper. Serve together with some thyme sprinkled on top, and roasted prosciutto. (You roast the prosciutto in a very hot oven at the top level until it turns a bit crispy).

The same base for soup can be used for many things. Sometimes I substitute the Jerusalem artichoke with carrots or parsnips. Sweet peas work too, but then you should switch the potato to carrots, and instead of thyme, throw some mint leaves in the soup before puréeing it.

And if someones curiosity awoke about my carpentry project, I'm building a cabinet shed to store garden and chicken stuff in.

 

[City farm]

Here are some lotus pond plant seeds.
They take a while to file in order to get to the seed.. Praying it will work. Hear in arizona @gallodelcielo
Started a wonderful box of seeds to be passed around from BYC members. . @Sill
Donated these lotus seeds,cant wait to see what color they turn out to be. She says she has pink purple and yellow. They've been soaking since yesterday afternoon.

 

[ducksanddoxies]

Anyone know what this is? A friend of mine is visiting Rhode Island and wanted to know.

 

[Peep_Show]

Not sure, but looks like quinoa.

 

[Peep_Show]

It is scheduled to be HOT today (95-99 degrees) and I noticed my gooseberry bush's berries were getting very dark indeed, so decided to go berry picking this morning. During my hour+ out in the veggie patch I gathered close to 4 lbs. of pink gooseberries, which fills a large colander nicely. This is off of a dishwasher-sized bush that I almost yanked last year for being so sickly scrubby. Never underestimate the power of TLC, water, fertilizer and birdnetting.

I learned several things whilst picking: (1) the berries at the top of the bush that get the most sun have the most intense flavor but are small; (2) the larger berries are on the shady low under limbs of the bush; (3) the juiciest berries are in the thorniest part of the bush; (4) gooseberry thorns draw blood.

Tonight we'll be enjoying a dessert of gooseberry fool with toasted walnuts (because husband won't eat it otherwise. Men + fruit...I don't get it) and tomorrow I'll endeavor to put up gooseberry jam and maybe concoct a mixed berry tartlet if there's leftovers. I was surprised to go online and see that gooseberries are selling for close to $11 per pound fresh frozen! Maybe next year we'll take some gooseberries to the weekly farmers/growers market when we have other produce items to go along with it.

Left a few berries on the bush for the Gambel Quail to enjoy.

 

[ducksanddoxies]

Can anyone tell me what this is and what I should do about it. I believe it's some kind of mold or fungus. It's just on top of the soil. I live in South Arkansas.